Literacy By 3 is a comprehensive, literacy initiative implemented in Houston Independent School District's (HISD's) kindergarten- through fifth-grade classrooms during the 2014-2015 school year. Literacy By 3 is a combination of six reading strategies: (1) guided reading; (2) reading to self (independent or silent sustained reading); (3) read to partner; (4) read to class (read-aloud); (5) word work (vocabulary); and (6) writing. The HISD curriculum is the foundation for Literacy By 3, which is based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS), English Language Proficiency Standards, and the Prekindergarten guidelines (PKG). The ultimate objective of Literacy By 3 is to have, by 2019, all HISD students reading on grade level by the end of third grade. Much of the focus, therefore, has been on the kindergarten to third grades. This focus was in direct response to the slow growth in the district's reading scores on various standardized assessment, including the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), Stanford 10, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2013-2014. It was due also to the critical role reading by third grade plays in later reading and academic achievement. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of the inaugural year of the Literacy By 3 initiative on the reading performances of first- through fifth-grade HISD students.